Wrexham A.F.C. 2–1 Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal were the reigning champions of England having won the Football League First Division title in 1990–91. The team had only lost one match in their successful league campaign, to Chelsea in February 1991. Arsenal's opponents Wrexham had finished bottom of the entire Football League the previous season. In normal circumstances this meant the club would have been relegated to the Football Conference, but The Football League's plan to expand its competition in time for the 1991–92 season meant there was to be no demotion. Both clubs met once previously in all competitions – an FA Cup quarter-final played on 11 March 1978 which Arsenal won by three goals to two. Wrexham qualified for the third round of the 1991–92 FA Cup after beating Winsford United 5–2 in the first round and Telford 1–0 in the second round. Arsenal, like the other top division clubs, entered the competition in the third round. They went into the match as strong favourites; Vinnie Wright's pools forecast in The Times predicted an away win, though Wrexham manager Brian Flynn noted: "On paper they should murder us, but the match isn't being played on paper." Wrexham's precarious league position was covered in a The Guardian feature piece, which examined the feasibility of the club's ambitious redevelopment project. As part of a £42 million plan, Wrexham secretary David Rhodes proposed a new 5,000 all-seater stadium, while its Racecourse Ground would be converted into a supermarket. The match was the featured game on BBC One's Match of the Day: The Road to Wembley, a highlights programme presented by Des Lynam. Commentary was provided by Tony Gubba. ==Match==

Summary Wrexham's squad included three Welsh internationals, Mickey Thomas, Gordon Davies and substitute Joey Jones. The first eleven was mostly composed of youth graduates, aged 20 years or under. By comparison, Arsenal's squad was greatly experienced with seven England internationals. Manager George Graham named a strong first eleven: David O'Leary came in for Bould to partner Tony Adams in defence, while Jimmy Carter made his second start for the club since joining in late 1991. Arsenal got the game underway and won the first corner of the match. Taken by Paul Merson, the ball was flicked on at the near post by O'Leary and reached Alan Smith. The forward's header was obstructed by a Wrexham player, who proceeded to clear it out. It did not take long for Arsenal to create another chance; Nigel Winterburn played the ball down the left side of the pitch, finding Merson who ran in towards the penalty area and produced a cross. The ball was cleared, but reached Carter whose effort near the penalty spot went wide of the right-side post. Wrexham managed to get into the opposition's area and create half-chances, but then Arsenal broke forward again with Kevin Campbell having a shot on target. Gareth Owen nearly scored the opener, when he controlled the ball from a flick on and instinctively took a shot that whistled past the post. Two minutes before the interval, Arsenal took the lead. Merson surged forward into the penalty area and his cross was met Smith who slid the ball past goalkeeper Vince O'Keefe. Wrexham almost equalised immediately from the restart, but David Seaman denied Steve Watkin by rushing towards the midfielder and obstructing him. Having faked to take it quickly, Thomas lined up the shot which arrowed into the top corner past Seaman. The Arsenal goalkeeper had got fingertips from his right-hand to the effort, but not enough to stop it flying in. Within two minutes of the equaliser, Wrexham went ahead: a poor clearance by Winterburn resulted in Davies latching onto the ball over the top and, instead of volleying an effort on goal, he squared it for Watkin. Adams went across the midfielder in an attempt to intervene, but fumbled. An outstretching Watkin poked the ball past Seaman which went beneath the goalkeeper. Arsenal responded by dominating the final minutes with repeated attacks, but Wrexham's defence stood firm. Carter had the ball in the net late on, but the referee ruled the goal out for offside; the final whistle was blown moments later and sparked a pitch invasion from the joyous home fans. Details ==Aftermath and legacy==

A jubilant Thomas described the free kick as the most crucial goal of his career, and believed Wrexham had every chance of causing another upset in the next round, despite an unfavourable away draw: "We are disappointed not to be at home but after beating the champions we're not afraid of anyone." He credited the club for their conditioning programme but also attributed the good form to casual drinking: "I always have two pints of Guinness on a Friday, sometimes more. It gives me energy, I feel stronger and believe in it." His manager Flynn admitted Thomas "trains when he wants to train," and added: "I will take whatever he's taking to keep him going. And if he was 10 years younger I'd be able to sell him for £5m." He went on to call the defeat his "lowest moment in football." The replay was played on 4 February with a solitary West Ham goal coming from defender Colin Foster, securing a 1–0 win in front of 17,995 fans at the Racecourse Ground. Arsenal's league form in the meantime stuttered as they recorded no wins in January. The team ended the campaign strongly, putting together a sequence of 16 games unbeaten to finish fourth. On the 20th anniversary of the match, Thomas recalled the goal as "...the one people talk about. I don’t mind, though. It's still my best ever." He disclosed that his teammates never thought Wrexham had a chance of progressing into the fourth round, rather "we just wondered how many they were going to score." commentator John Motson described the Wrexham-Arsenal tie as a "giant killing which has stood the test of time." In 2013, the match featured in a list of greatest ever FA Cup upsets, as voted for by ESPN viewers. ==See also==